Bush to Hu: Stop bothering the Dalai Lama

On Board the PM’s Special Aircraft, Sep 28 (IANS) “The Dalai Lama is a peace-loving man. Why are you people bothering him?” US President George W. Bush recalled telling Chinese President Hu Jintao when he met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House last week.When Bush hosted Manmohan Singh in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House Thursday, the two leaders literally discussed every big-ticket issue under the sun, ranging from non-proliferation, climate change and global trade talks to terrorism, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China.

“They discussed just about every issue,” a senior official, who was present at the White House dinner, told reporters who were accompanying the prime minister on his trip from the US to France.

“Bush was very impressed by the Olympics,” the official recalled.

Bush found a sense of connection with India, he added.

“China is different. We are democracies,” the official quoted Bush as telling Manmohan Singh at an exclusive dinner that was only attended by a handful of top aides of the two leaders.

Manmohan Singh also told Bush his China story. The Indian prime minister recalled former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew telling him that the present generation of leadership in China is not interested in creating conflicts. “He was not too sure about the next generation,” Manmohan Singh remembered Lee telling him.

“The discussion between them was almost academic and often veered to high economics in the context of the financial meltdown in the US,” the official recalled.